An international star who loves his safe family life in Söder and a fashionista who is the Best Dressed Man of the Year. ELLE hangs with a contrasting Bill Skarsgård to the playground. Type.
The best dressed man of the year is a father of a toddler in sneakers and baggy pants. But also a character actor, with clothes as an important work tool. And last fall, Bill Skarsgård appeared at a luxurious Balenciaga show in Paris and became a style icon for a sighing fashion world. How is he supposed to feel?
– Fashion is not my favorite hobby. I don't spend a lot of time thinking about what to wear. But when you're doing premieres and press and stuff, then you have to look nice, I think. If I look at my everyday clothes, I wouldn't see myself as a style icon, haha.
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He describes himself as lazy, style-wise. And a parent of young children, so comfort is the most important thing.
– I think it's nice that wider pants have become trendy. I like that. It also suits tall people and I'm tall. Then I'm quite involved in my clothing choices for characters, I think that's really fun. To tell something using style from different style eras.
As an actor, public events, like premieres, are part of the job. Then he thinks a bit in the same way, building a character and telling a story.
– I think that's fun. But then I often work with cool brands and stylists, who have a good selection that they can pick from. In everyday life, I'm a bit lazy. These baggy pants and these sneakers, it's perfect for drop-off and pick-up.
But what about Balenciaga's show?
– Yeah, I don't usually go to things like that, but to be completely honest, it coincided with the UFC in Paris that weekend, haha. It was a bit overwhelming with all the people there. Then brands like to have you wear their clothes at shows. The more you stand out, the better. So I tried some really bold outfits. Gigantic shoes and a skirt that dragged on the ground, but then I felt like "no, I'm a bit too shy for this". But I had a huge leather jacket on. So we met halfway.
In recent years, movie and streaming audiences have been able to see Bill Skarsgård as the clown Pennywise in the It films (a role that will soon be reprised in the series It: Welcome to Derry on Netflix) and Count Orlok in Nosferatu , as Clark Olofsson in Clark and Sven Stolpe in Burn All My Letters . For many of the roles, the costume is a prerequisite, but even if it's just a pink hoodie and a bomber jacket – as in Locked – the clothes are crucial and the costume designer is an important collaborator.
– The better, cooler and more creative the costume designer, the more fun and inspiring the work becomes. I've done films where they don't have much money and the options might be four hoodies in different colors. Then it can be quite slow to find the right one. Or it can be like Linda Muir who did the costumes for Robert Eggers' films, she's like a costume historian. Every single thing is handmade and every single seam is contemporary. Then it's just a pleasure. But the character doesn't really fit until I put the costume on. Putting it on makes you carry yourself in a different way and move in a different way. That's super important.
In the aforementioned Locked, he played opposite Anthony Hopkins.
– It was great fun and awesome to work with such a legend, who belongs to the elite of actors from his generation, he begins and takes a breath to continue telling, but interrupts himself with a softer voice:
– No, you can't touch that, because I'm using it. Are you done with your bagel? Are we going to go out to the park for so long? Sorry, my daughter has Easter break and we're leaving tomorrow, wait a second...
LIVES IN SÖDERMALM WITH PARTNER ALIDA MORBERG
The interview takes us to the swings, in a playground on Södermalm in Stockholm. This is where Bill Skarsgård lives his childhood, together with his partner Alida Morberg.
– We live a stone's throw from where I grew up. Right now I'm standing in the same park that I played in as a child. It's very grounding and safe in many ways. I have the same friends that I've had since I was twelve years old here and all my siblings live in the neighborhood. There's something invaluable about that. When I'm home, I can spend as much time as possible with my own family, but also with my extended family and my siblings' children. It's very nice.
If his private life is about grounded security, his pursuit in his professional life is the exact opposite. There he seeks out the insecure, things he doesn't already know.
– I follow my gut feeling, I think. I try to choose roles where I feel like it's something I haven't done before or a challenge I haven't mastered. I get started on the feeling of "I don't know if I can do this". Then it's usually something I want to expose myself to. I don't know how wise it is for my well-being, but I always want to test my limits and see how far I can go in my portrayal.
PUTTING THE PUZZLE OF LIFE TOGETHER
Both he and Alida Morberg are actors, a job that periodically involves travel and intensive workdays and periodically as much free time as possible. How does that fit into the life puzzle?
– It's strange to have a job that's so schizophrenic, in every way. Partly pretending to be other people all the time. But it can also be extremely intense, I can be completely immersed in a story, a character and a world in a place that I'm often unfamiliar with. This year I filmed in Kentucky, USA, which was exotic in its own way, and in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Sometimes the family comes to visit and this summer, when he is filming a still-secret project in Australia during the summer holidays (the only thing he dares to say is that it is something he found exciting as a child – Astronaut? Cowboy?), the family gets to come along and it becomes a shared adventure. But afterwards, when a shoot is over, the calendar is instead echoingly empty.
– Then I have a lot of time, too much time, and it will be easier for the family. I can pick up and fix, but the transition from working 15 hours a day to having all the time in the world to myself – it's quite tricky.
Sometimes he gets jealous of people who have a structured everyday life where nothing unexpected happens. But still, not.
– I probably enjoy it quite well and Alida too, we like things to change and happen in slightly different places and not really knowing what your next six months will look like. I know that for some people it would be their worst nightmare, not having control over things. But I enjoy the chaos. •
ELLE hänger med en kontrastrik Bill Skarsgård till lekparken på Södermalm i Stockholm.
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